How Do I Get Cured of My Panic Attacks?
Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Question
For the last few years, I have been having a lot of anxiety and anxiety attacks.
I was feeling better before as I was not afraid of these panic attacks, but over the last few days a thought is stuck in my mind: If Allah is behind everything then Is It Allah who is giving me panic attacks? If so, how can I get cured?
Answer
I pray you are well.
Indeed, it is ultimately Allah who creates everything. He is a supreme master of all that exists. He gives life, death, health, wealth, and everything else.
However, He has created us in a world of means. Meaning that things there are causes and they bring about effects – at least in the way we perceive reality. Illness and good health work this way too.
If someone with a nut allergy consumes a nut he usually gets an unpleasant physical reaction. Everything here is created by Allah. However, the way we are told to deal with it is to turn to Allah, ask for help, and then seek outward means to heal from this and other issues.
Your anxiety and panic attacks are signs of a dysregulated nervous system, probably due to some form of traumatic experience. The appropriate response from yourself should be to turn to Allah, express your slavehood and need, and ask him to facilitate a cure and the means to get it.
Taking the Means
Then, you should speak to a qualified mental health professional. Such a person will be able to direct you to the means of being cured. That is the approach of the Believer: to turn to Allah first, to take the means He has created, to trust in Allah, and then to be happy knowing that the outcome is always going to be in your long-term benefit.
May Allah facilitate all matters for you.
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History he moved to Damascus in 2007 where, for 18 months, he studied with many erudite scholars. In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years in Sacred Law (fiqh), legal theory (Usul al-fiqh), theology, hadith methodology, hadith commentary, and Logic. He was also given licenses of mastery in the science of Quranic recital and he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Quranic sciences, tafsir, Arabic grammar, and Arabic eloquence.
